Thesis+Statements

India traded by sea because of their geographical advantages over China, which, in turn made trading more successful because they were able to travel to farther locations, whereas, in China, goods were traded by land to the Middle East, therefore crating less of a trade route fort the Chinese.
 * Describe the trading patterns China and India (200 BCE - 200 CE). What factors can explain these differences?**

In Classical China political structures changed with each dynasty, ranging from powerful and brutal leaders, to a bureaucratic form of government with regional leaders, while in Classical India, the caste system divided the people into classes, keeping the people in line, and regional or local leaders were in charge instead of one powerful emperor.
 * Compare the development of political structures in Classical China with those in Classical India.**

**Compare and contrast the ways civilization developed in India and Mesopotamia** Both Indian and Mesopotamian civilization developed based on strong agricultural needs, differing in the people who founded each society; India being settled by the Aryans of Central Asia and Mesopotamia being settled by the people of the Mediterranean.

**Compare and contrast the impact of Confucianism in China with Hinduism in India (200 B.C.E to 200 C.E.)** As Confucianism and Hinduism were alike from 200 BCE to 200 CE because they supported forms of strong government and education, they were different because people following Confucianism didn't look to a higher power for guidance, whereas Hindus worshiped many gods and performed many rituals to please them.

**Describe the changes and continuities in the role of women in the transition from a hunter gathering life style to civilization.** Before civilization, women played a large role in traveling groups of people because they gathered food and cared for the children, but as civilization began to develop, women became confined to the house and lost many rights, while men farmed and supported families completely. Classical Rome and Han China were both agricultural-based economies, but their different trading styles altered the cultural path and the generations to come.
 * In what ways were the economic foundations of of the Roman and the Han Empires similar? What were the consequences of the differences?**

In Han China and Classical Rome, the governments were ruled by emperors, or a single leader, but China had developed bureaucracy and in Rome there were local leaders under the emperor.
 * Compare the institutions of imperial government in Han China to those established in Rome after Augustus.**

Rome and Han China were both similar in their agricultural-based economies which expanded interactions with foreign nations, but differed in their chief exports, and the families of both empires were patriarchal.
 * Compare the social and economic organization of Rome and Han China.**

__Thesis Outline__

Han China and Rome faced many of the same problems eventually leading to the collapse of the empires, like epidemics, the decline in political power, and attacks on their borders.Both left behind many traditions and their leftover beliefs were formed into the new leading empires of the next generations.
 * Compare and contrast the factors that lead to, and the effects of, the collapse of Ancient Rome and Han China.**


 * 3 Direct Comparisons and Evidence:** Epidemics hit both empires, but during different time periods.
 * Disease hit Rome and reduced the population from about one million to about 250,000. An epidemic traveled to China around 200 CE, when the population reached its peak at 60 million, was decimated to 45 million by 600 CE.
 * Disease caused death of Marcus Aurelius- Roman emperor
 * The diseases were thought to have come from Southern Asia by trade, traveling through the Mediterranean, where there was no resistance or immunity.
 * The disease eventually spread up through Asia again, thus affecting Han China.

Rome and China faced political problems as upper-class leaders started to turn their backs on the empire and as regional leaders began to fall from their positions.
 * Political problems in Rome were caused by the plagues that affected them so negatively.
 * Roman empire split into Easter and Western Empire because it was easier to gevern
 * Augustus took power from the senate, though not ruling during the downfall of Rome
 * The diseases broke China's unity and caused leaders to rise and fall at a fast rate.
 * These factors led to the political downfall, thus showing other nations that the empires were showing signs of weakness.

As cultural and political factors threatened the unity and existence of Rome and China, the focus on protecting their borders started to diminish.
 * With weak borders, Rome was more likely to be attacked. They were invaded by Germanic tribes. Though it seemed like the Germans wouldn't stand a chance, numbering about 5% of the Roman population, they put an end to the Roman Empire.
 * Roman borders eventually fell to the Visigoths. (western empire)
 * As China's main focus wasn't on protecting their borders as well, a tribe known as the Huns attacked.

All of these factors led to the creation of the Byzantine Empire. It was made up of what was left Rome and Greece after their collapses. Christianity began to spread westward as Buddhism was spreading east.

Romans placed a higher emphasis on merchants and China did otherwise despite the great importance of trade to both. If both nations weren't focused on trade, maybe, epidemics wouldn't have hit, and the epires may have survived longer.